Findings and sense of Congress

(a) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) The dark web is made up of websites and other network services that leverage overlay networks providing anonymity. These overlay networks use the internet but require specific software and configurations to access. The overlay networks use multiple encrypted traffic relays for which an individual relay computer knows its source of information and where the individual computer is sending the information but never knows both the original source and ultimate destination of the traffic simultaneously. This anonymity has provided criminals with the ability to host illicit material in a way that circumvents the ability of law enforcement agencies to serve legal process to remove or effectively investigate websites offering illegal content or goods for purchase or sharing. (2) Dark web marketplaces include e-commerce websites based on the dark web on which individuals use virtual currencies to engage in transactions involving drugs, weapons, malware, counterfeit currency, stolen credit cards, personal identifying information, forged documents, unlicensed pharmaceuticals, and other illicit goods. (3) Due to the anonymity provided by the dark web, illicit activities can be hosted from anywhere in the world without accountability to— (A) the Federal Government; (B) Federal laws; or (C) any other government or system of laws. (4) The use of the dark web to distribute illegal drugs has contributed and continues to contribute to the substance abuse crisis that is devastating communities across the United States. This devastation is due in large part to the fact that the dark web has made illicit goods obtainable anonymously. (5) Law enforcement agencies at every level of government continue to investigate drug trafficking and the sale of illegal goods and services through the dark web that occurs as a result of interactions on the dark web, both within the United States and at the international border of the United States, but the increased anonymity the internet provides has made it more difficult to identify and prosecute the individuals and organizations who— (A) administer or otherwise operate websites on the dark web that facilitate the distribution of illegal drugs, goods, or services; or (B) buy and sell illegal drugs, goods, or services through illicit marketplaces hosted on the dark web. (6) Despite difficulties in identifying and locating individuals and organizations who engage in drug trafficking on the dark web, law enforcement agencies have been effective in investigating and prosecuting the distribution of illegal drugs through illicit marketplaces on the dark web, as evidenced by Operation SpecTor, an operation conducted across 3 continents that resulted from a partnership between the Department of Justice and foreign law enforcement agencies, which— (A) was announced in May 2023; (B) resulted in— (i) 288 arrests; (ii) the seizure of approximately 850 kilograms of drugs, including 64 kilograms of fentanyl or fentanyl-laced narcotics; (iii) the seizure of 117 firearms; and (iv) the seizure of $53,400,000 in cash and virtual currencies; and (C) is an example of one of many cases conducted jointly by— (i) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; (ii) the Drug Enforcement Administration; (iii) Homeland Security Investigations; (iv) United States Customs and Border Protection; (v) the United States Postal Inspection Service; (vi) the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network; (vii) the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; (viii) the Naval Criminal Investigative Service; (ix) the Department of Justice; (x) the Department of Defense; and (xi) additional local, State, and international law enforcement partners. (7) Although law enforcement agencies have succeeded in investigating the distribution and sale of illegal drugs, goods, and services that occurs as a result of interactions on the dark web, investigative and prosecutorial collaboration, innovation, and advancement are critical to— (A) increasing the capacity to combat the threat posed by the dark web and the illicit marketplaces hosted on the dark web; and (B) enhancing collaboration and coordination among Federal, State, Tribal, local, international and other law enforcement partners, as appropriate. (b) Sense of congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the dark web and illicit marketplaces hosted on the dark web facilitate the distribution of illegal drugs and pose a unique threat to the public health and national security in the United States; and (2) Congress should— (A) support law enforcement agencies and prosecutors at the Federal, State, Tribal, local, and international levels in their efforts to investigate and prosecute the distribution of illegal drugs, goods, and services through the dark web; and (B) increase the investigative and prosecutorial tools available to law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to address the distribution of illegal drugs, goods, and services through the dark web.